In various machines which are cycled when an operator triggers an activation device, it is common to employ a safety switch system which prevents accidental injury by requiring that an operator's hands be clear of moving parts of the machine before the machine can be cycled. A common safety switch system includes two hand-operated switches which are spaced apart within reach of the operator but clear of the moving parts. Both switches must be depressed simultaneously in order to cycle the machine. Since it is virtually impossible to activate both switches simultaneously without using both hands, the system is very effective in preventing injury. However, a machine operator often must perform chores on, or in the area of, the workpiece during intervals between work cycles of the machine, and thus the operator's hands must move back and forth between the safety switches and the workpiece, thereby consuming valuable production time. In some cases the operator merely needs to reposition the workpiece between machine cycles. When many machine cycles are required to finish a workpiece and the workpiece must be repositioned after every cycle, a large proportion of the total production time is spent in movement of the operator's hands back and forth between the safety switches and the workpiece, and in repositioning the workpiece. What is needed is a safety switch system which enables an operator to reposition a workpiece between machine cycles without removing his or her hands from the safety switches.